Getdown Services with Antony Szmierek

As they sell out tours and command audiences worldwide, it's a strange ask to imagine Getdown Services as underdogs.Yet, for several years, they were there for the hell of the grind, committed to playing any and every show they could get, from sparse opening slots in Bristol to out of town dives. Chat to them long enough and they'll often reminisce about their very first gig overseas, performing in a leaky barn to a French crowd of two in the commune of La Zad. 'One was a man sitting facing away from the stage smoking a bong, and the other was literally a dog'. For most bands, this might be a lowpoint. However, as the duo recall, it was anything but: 'We knew if we could enjoy playing that gig, then we'd enjoy any gig'. It's this irrepressible, anarchic joy that has endeared them to audiences everywhere they've travelled, and has once again been effortlessly captured on their new record 'Massive Champion'. At heart, it's an ode to their childhood, and the British cultural artefacts that defined it, from the Beano to retro video games and sosmix. But it's also a distillation of their live wire performances, its thirteen tracks overflowing with the same boundless energy and seditious wit that sees them command each stage they set foot on. Their journey towards this record is one of those rare success stories that often feel consigned to rock and roll history. Having met as kids in Minehead, Josh Law and Ben Sadler began making music together as soon as they could get hold of instruments, beginning and breaking up projects on and off for the next twenty years. Getdown Services started as another of these diversions, conceived during lockdown whilst Law was sitting around bored and making beats at home. However, once the world opened up, they launched the band in earnest and quickly made a name for themselves in Bristol with their schoolboy antics and subversive humour. 'We were just trying to make each other laugh the whole time' says Law. 'Even now we're still just th